Album Review: Dautha – Brethren Of The Black Soil (Ván Records)

Dautha’s debut album ‘Brethren of the Black Soil’ sees the band convert the rich lore and history of Medieval and Antique Europe into their own take on Epic Folk/Doom Metal. It will be released on March 16th 2018 via Ván Records.

The booming chug of the guitars & cursed vocal style that switches between lighter melody & soaring highs gets this debut off to a solid start. Hodie Mihi, Cras Tibi is an broad & creative take on classic doom, one that isn’t constrained by the genre. Instead embracing the heaviness & bleakness but lightening the load with some stunning moments of airy beauty.

A psalm-esque section sung in Swedish with lyrics borrowed from the German poet Andreas Gryphius (1616-1664) is focal point. Ensuring the title track, coming in at nearly 15 minutes is just as memorable.

A booming Maximinus Thrax is followed by the folksy melody intro of The Children’s Crusade, a track that proves to be the real star of the album. The epic feel mixed with soul-searching doom is gripping & the group vocal moments is hair-raising stuff.

It’s a tough ask for In Between Two Floods to follow that but the soaring melody & subtle doomier edge ensures another memorable experience before Bogbodies ends things in spectacular fashion.

Delivering a darkened & gothic tone, this is a finale that is all about heaviness played at a slow, drifting pace. You can picture the walk through the murky bogs, mists swirling around the bodies that lie under the dirty water, calling for you to join them.

A finish that leaves you feeling cold but so impressed.

Dautha – Brethren of the Black Soil Full Track Listing:

1. Hodie Mihi, Cras Tibi
2. Brethren Of The Black Soil
3. Maximinus Thrax
4. The Children’s Crusade
5. In Between Two Floods
6. Bogbodies

Pick up earlier releases via Bandcamp & Ván Records where the new album will also be available. Then find out more/keep up to date with Dautha news on Facebook.